In an effort to improve communication and ensure transparency a monthly organizational update will be emailed to members and posted on the NEOnet website. This communication will be an expansion of the monthly updates already completed by the other service areas. These monthly updates can be found on our website at;

For the first time our organization was an exhibitor at the 2016 OSBA Capital Conference held in Columbus on November 13-16. This was a great opportunity to talk with current and potential new owners of the council. I would like to thank all of you who had a chance to stop by and see us. NEOnet will have exhibitor space and be presenting at the State Technology Conference (OETC) on February 14-16, 2017. The title of our session is “Managing wireless to support student assessment and 1 to 1, learn how”. We look forward to seeing you in Columbus. Information about the OETC conference can be found at http://oetc.ohio.gov/.

1st Floor Renovations

The construction of the first floor which adds four meeting rooms, two PC labs, five offices, and thirteen cubicles, is 95% complete. The next phase is installing the office furniture, audio/visual equipment, and physical security system. This phase will be completed over the next couple of weeks. We have scheduled an open house for February 7, 2017. A save the date card, invitation, and a schedule of the day’s events are to follow.

Ohio Department of Education Site Review – META Solutions

I have been selected to participate in the site review of META solutions. The site review will take place on December 1-2, January 17-19, and February 22-24. The council will be compensated for my time and all expenses. This is a great opportunity to learn more about another Information Technology Center (ITC) and provide support to ODE, MCOECN, and META solutions. You can find a copy of the NEOnet site review at https://www.neonet.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_documents/ODE_NEONET_SiteReview2014_0.pdf

Network Infrastructure Design

As the purchasing season approaches, NEOnet wants to remind all our customers that we are more than willing to come out and put switch and wireless infrastructure designs together. After we visit each technology closet, we will discuss your district initiatives and put together a comprehensive proposal that will meet your needs and future proof your investment. We have a proven design developed around high performance technologies that is already in place and working at many schools. Let us help you put together a proposal that your district can build off as a solid foundation to all your technology needs.

Disaster Recovery Site Renovations

In order to improve our level of service and increase reliability, NEOnet will begin renovations of the disaster recover site in a few weeks. Part of the expansion includes adding an additional 60% of rack space, increasing the redundancy and cooling capability and adding access control capabilities to the equipment racks. These enhancements resolve some physical security and temperature control issues that would become issues as we increase the equipment present at the DR site. A more robust generator maintenance and monitoring program will also be implemented to ensure uninterrupted power capabilities to the equipment. As we increase our service offering and our redundancy, the reliance on the DR site also increases. These improvements will put us in a position to increase our capabilities and provide the level of service our customers have come to rely on.

Articles of the Month

“What a Decade of Educational Research Tells Us About Technology in the Hands of Underserved Students” by Molly Zielezinski in EdSurge, May 19, 2016, http://bit.ly/1sBrYoB, spotted in Education Digest, November 2016 (Vol. 82, #3, p. 30-34), www.eddigest.com.

In this Education Week article on literacy instruction in the computer age, Liana Heitin recommends the following free websites for student reading and research on nonfiction topics:

- Wonderopolis www.wonderopolis.org from the National Center for Families Learning has daily articles about science, social studies, math, and other subjects.

- Newsela www.newsela.com features daily news articles, each one written at five different reading levels.

- BrainPOP – www.brainpop.com has short animated videos in science, social studies English, math, health, engineering, and the arts.

- The Kids Should See This www.thekidshouldseethis.com has more than 2,500 educational videos on a range of topics, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.

- Tween Tribune www.tweentribune.com, hosted by the Smithsonian, is geared to 8-15-year-olds and features daily high-interest news articles at four different reading levels.